Tainted Love: The Serpent and the Lion Cub
by Sevyerus
Summary: How does Hera Potter deal with the pressure of being "The Chosen One" while navigating the raging hormonal waters of female puberty? Where does saving the world fall between struggling to ignore the influence of a sociopath raging through her head, and nurturing an inappropriate crush on her potion's professor? fem!harry slytherin!harry among other things...
1. Welcome to the Jungle

_Author's Note: Hello, all! This is an eventual Severus Snape/Hera Potter pairing. It's rated M for a reason.  
_

* * *

A dark figure made it's way across the lawns of Riddle Manor. He walked briskly, his black cloak trailing behind him like the wings of a bat. His skin glowed snow white in stark contrast to the long hair that fell across his face. The circles under his cold black eyes were so prevalent that they almost looked like bruises. It was obvious he was not a man who was used to getting any significant amount of rest. His general appearance had a aging affect on him, making him to be a man in his thirties at least despite only recently turning twenty.

Severus Snape certainly didn't feel young, either. Practicing such significant amounts of dark magic in service to the Dark Lord took a heavy strain on him both physically and on his magical energy. It certainly didn't help that after rising into the Dark Lord's favor, a position he had vied for desperately when he first joined the Death Eaters, came with the extra stressor of having to bear the weight of the Dark Lord's "gifts," which often tended to be tests of loyalty in disguise. Whether it be women, attractive murder contracts, quarters of his own in Riddle Manor, or his most recent gift of vampirism, Severus knew he was in no position to refuse. Despite the fact that he had no inclination towards magically drugged women, didn't particularly enjoy random acts of violence, hated being forced to reside in a house full of noisy Death Eaters up at all hours of the night, and had never viewed vampirism as anything but a curse.

"Severus!" The Dark Lord exclaimed in feigned excitement as Severus Snape burst dramatically into the reception hall of the Riddle Manor. "What has you looking so cheerful today?" He sneered, noting the scowl painted across his most trusted death eater's face.

The Dark Lord sat on his throne with his legs draped over one arm and his back leaning against the other. In that moment he truly didn't look like the deranged psychopath Severus knew him to be, he looked like a bored teenager.

"My Lord." Severus briskly approached the Dark Lord's throne and swept into a deep bow at his feet. "I have just happened upon some… pertinent information." He glanced pointedly at the few masked death eaters hanging around the hall, who took his indication and left hurriedly.

"Yes, yes, Severus spit it out. There is no need for dramatics." The Dark Lord waved a pale hand at him and rolled his eyes impatiently like a child.

"There has been a prophecy, a prophecy about a female child who would be born at the end of July to a couple who has defied you thrice. The prophecy goes that this girl will have the power defeat you. I thought you would want to be made aware." Severus responded shortly, in a manner that only he would ever dare take with the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed. "Are you certain of the legitimacy of this prophecy?"

"Yes, it was certainly a true seeing. Dumbledore certainly seemed to buy it." Severus feigned a bored shrug.

"I wouldn't want to act rashly. Prophecies tend to be self-fulfilling when those are stupid enough to act directly against them without first giving some thought. I shall think on this, I certainly have some time until the child grows." The Dark Lord ran a hand through his jet black hair in and sat up straight.

"I agree that would be wise, my Lord." Severus bowed his head slightly and began to make his departure.

The Dark Lord raised his hand in the air as a nonverbal command for him to wait.

"You have done well, Severus. I would like to reward you. I am aware of your feelings towards the Potter woman, and your animosity towards her dog of a husband. Kill him, and bring her to me. I would allow you to take her as your own for whatever purpose you see fit. You may marry her, keep her as a blood slave, or simply use and discard. After, of course, her child is born."

Severus blinked. "I was not aware Lily Potter was with child."

"Ahh, yes, Severus. You are not the only one who provides me with interesting information. I suspect that the child will be born by the end of this month, and if it's a girl…" The Dark Lord chose to end his sentence there. "Go, Severus, collect on your prize." He chuckled darkly.

Severus' head began to spin as he made his way from the manor. Only once he felt a safe distance away from the Dark Lord's legilimency did he allow his thoughts to fully form. Kill James Potter? Take Lily? It was truly everything that he could have wished for. Yet, the idea turned his stomach into knots. The killing would give him no qualms, in fact, he was sure he would enjoy it. Severus had often fantasized about being the one to take that scoundrel's life. But the look of horror Lily would surely give him upon the act's completion made him feel sick. However, this way he could ensure her safety. Yes, she would hate him for it, but he could keep her safe and by his side. No, it was far too risky. Lily would never sit by complacently. She would eventually find a way to escape and he could not risk her being killed by a death eater or the Dark Lord himself as a result. There was only one option.

The moment Severus passed the apparition wards which surrounded Riddle Manor he instinctively disapparated and found himself directly outside of the gates of Hogwarts. He knew this was incredibly reckless of him, but he would blatantly disregard his own life again and again for Lily Evans without thinking twice, despite the unfortunate change of her surname.

Severus took a shaky breath before purposefully walking towards the castle. He was momentarily surprised when the gates swung open for him, but quickly chalked it up to Albus Dumbledore's incurable arrogance. Severus made it all the way up to the Phoenix statue that marked the entrance to the Headmaster's office before taking pause. He was lucky not to have run into McGonagall at any point during his trek through the castle. Minerva McGonagall was an impossibly intelligent woman who could obviously think rationally and listen to reason. However, she was also a hotheaded Gryffindor who often chose not to, and Severus did not feel particularly in the mood to have a powerful and spiteful witch hurling curses at him. He had always held a begrudging respect for the woman, and he knew he would gain no satisfaction from the swift victory he would certainly have over her in the event of a duel. He of course, wouldn't blame her for wanting to attack him. After all they were at war. Severus felt a brief sting of guilt at the knowledge that if he had ever met Minerva on the battlefield, which was unlikely due to her primarily being a schoolteacher, he would have been forced to kill her without even a moment of hesitation in spite of his respect for her. He was silently grateful for that situation never coming to pass, and hoped that it never would.

Over the past few years Severus Snape had tortured and murdered countless people at the command of the Dark Lord. He had learned how to utilize his occulemency in a way to block off any negative emotions he had about this fact. He built boxes around his guilt, remorse, and regret. He locked them up hid them from himself as well as the Dark Lord. When safely away from the Dark Lord's legilimency he brought out these emotions and tortured himself with them. Severus' need to do this stemmed from a place of both extreme self-loathing, and the fear that if he kept them locked away long enough they would go away for good. Severus Snape was by no means a kind man, but he was not a psychopath. It gave him small comfort that he possessed distaste for inflicting unnecessary pain and death while the other death eaters appeared to enjoy it, live for it. He also knew that this made his actions even more inexcusable.

Severus cleared his throat and tapped his foot impatiently. The Headmaster had to have known he passed through the front gate, yet for whatever reason he deemed it necessary for Severus to wait outside his office for an eternity, stewing in self-hatred.

Finally the Phoenix rotated, revealing a set of stairs. Severus made his way up the stairs with long strides, taking two steps at a time. When he reached the last stair his hand tightened around his wand in his pocket. He was aware of the fact that Dumbledore was unlikely to let him get this far and then turn around and attack him, and that Dumbledore would surely see him as a huge advantage for the Order given his potential as a spy. This didn't stop him from feeling nervous and ashamed.

While he would never let Dumbledore or anyone else know it, he knew full well that he had joined the wrong side. He wished he had been able to get over petty childhood disagreements and had the strength to forsake his house two years ago. He grimaced as he thought of Black luring him down to the shrieking shack where he has almost been killed by that God damned werewolf. While his classification of their disagreements as "pretty" was certainly inaccurate, the people he had chosen to affiliate himself with were thousands of times worse than Potter and his crew. At least the fucking Gryffindor's only attempted to murder people they outwardly hated. The Dark Lord and his followers killed for sport. They claimed reason behind their madness but it was all truly senseless. If Severus Snape died as a Death Eater his death would hold no meaning. He could never redeem himself from the atrocities he had committed, but perhaps he could find a way for his death to hold meaning. Perhaps he could die for Lily and her family, even if that family included James.

"Severus." The Headmaster stepped out from a door on the far end of his office that hadn't been there a moment ago. He was wearing horrendous periwinkle robes decorated with clouds shaped like bunny rabbits, and buckled purple high heeled boots.

"Albus." Severus grunted, frowning at the man's ridiculous ensemble. He hadn't missed the man's almost headache inducingly bright outfits.

"I apologize for the delay, my boy. I am not used to entertaining former Death Eaters at three in the morning." Dumbledore said cheerfully, his blue eyes twinkling behind his crescent moon spectacles.

Severus stiffened. "Former Death Eater?" He questioned in a hushed tone.

"Well, unless you've come to assassinate me, which you would have done by now had that been your intention, I'm assuming you have come to join us. Would you like a lemon drop? It's a muggle candy I've grown quite fond of." Dumbledore slid behind his desk and opened a jar of yellow hard candy. He looked from Severus to the jar expectantly for a few moments before relenting and closing it again after popping one into his own mouth.

Severus wished Dumbledore would drop the fucking blundering grandfather act.

"You and I both know full well that if I had come here to assassinate you I would have been on my back before I managed a single curse." Severus hissed. He despised how this man pretended to be hopeless when everyone in the wizarding world knew he was the most powerful of them all.

"Oh, Severus, you flatter me so. I don't think I've blushed this much since Poppy told me she liked my new earmuffs." Dumbledore chuckled at him lightly.

Severus decided it was beyond time to get to the point. This man's phony kindness had always been fucking insufferable.

"The Dark Lord has come to the conclusion that should Lily Potter give birth to a girl she would be the subject of the prophecy." Severus drawled in a bored tone, all the while his heart pounded and his lungs felt on fire with anxiety.

"Ahh, and how did Voldemort hear of this prophecy?" Dumbledore teased.

Had Severus' circulatory system functioned in the same way as a human's his cheeks would have burned with embarrassment. As his body couldn't betray him in such a way and his mental shields blocked the man's gently prodding legilimency from his emotions, he managed to appear completely unaffected. But it pained him deeply that he had inadvertently put Lily directly in harms way.

"I am certain that the prophecy would have reached the Dark Lord's ears regardless of who reported it to him. However, the fact that the messenger happened to be me has quite possibly tipped the scales largely in your favor. I'm sure you were aware of that when you realized I was eavesdropping and you allowed me to remain." Severus responded, his words sharp and cutting.

"I have no idea what you are referring to." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled annoyingly. "Pray tell, what does Voldemort intend to do with this valuable information?"

Severus glared at him. He was almost as nonchalant about the possible loss of life as the Dark Lord himself. He could feel concern on the edge of Dumbledore's mind, but he was sure that was only because Dumbledore was allowing that single feeling to pass through his mental shields while making it appear as if it were genuine, and not one filtered out and then shoved in Severus' direction. The manipulative cunt.

"He wants me to kill James Potter and deliver him Lily. He claims to wish no harm towards the woman. He did not reveal what his intentions are for the baby, but I find it highly unlikely he will permit the wretch to live." Severus spat the words at Dumbledore with more force than necessary.

"That appears to be a sound plan." Dumbledore kept his false smile secured on his face.

"Obviously, I will not carry it out." Severus said icily. "You need to hide them. I will be punished heavily for failing my assignment. However, I highly doubt the Dark Lord will kill me over it. If you do this you will have one of the Dark Lord's most favored Death Eaters spying for you, this could win you the war."

"Yes, possibly. However, I do believe this would result in you falling drastically out of favor which would make you much less useful to me." Dumbledore's eyes were no longer twinkling, and his smile looked wolfish. "I believe it would be best if you completed your task as commanded."

Severus stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?" Severus hissed at the man sitting before him. "You want me to murder James Potter and kidnap Lily! If neither of them matter to you at least the chosen fucking one of your prophecy should! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

As Severus' anger flared a buzz of magical energy filled the room that he made no attempt to contain. The jar of lemon drops shattered suddenly, sending both the candy and shards of glass flying through the room, one of which lodged itself into Severus' cheek. He ignored the sting and glared at the old man before him demandingly.

"Severus." Dumbledore cooed, gently. "What better way to ensure the prophecy comes to it's own than by allowing Voldemort to attempt to stop it? It is certainly better for the Order if you remain in his graces. I am sure you have killed others in the name of what you believed to be the greater good, I fail to see how this is any different."

"I will not do it." Severus informed the old man firmly, his magical outburst already fully contained.

"I believe you will, Severus. Now, please forgive me but I must get back to sleep, an old man needs his rest."


	2. Take Me Out

**Warning: Rape.**

 _Disclaimer: I do not condone rape or sexual assault in any way. As a survivor myself I simply relate more to broken characters so those are the sorts of characters I tend to create._

 _I am also not J.K. Rowling. She would never write this shit._

 _Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed! I really appreciate it._

 _I'm sorry this update took awhile, but I am finally starting to get much more excited about this story._

* * *

Hera Potter woke up with a start, slamming her head into the ceiling of her cupboard. Dust unsettled and fell into her already dirty and nearly matted hair.

She had been dreaming about a strange ugly man dressed all in black. His nose was so long that it was hard to look past it to the rest of his face, and it was crooked as if it had been broken a few times. The man's dark greasy hair was smeared across his sickly pale skin. His eyes were black and so cold that they sent shivers through her body, but there was an indescribable tenderness about them as they looked down at her.

He had carried Hera pressed tightly against his chest. His grip on her was tight and secure which was comforting to her, as she could not recall ever being held by anyone in her whole life. Surely the Durselys had picked her up out of necessity before she could walk, but they would have handled her as if she was a hot coal who would burn them if handled for too long. This man held her protectively, lovingly even.

The man had been arguing with someone, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She could only hear the tones of their voices, but their words were garbled and incomprehensible.

Hera had been woken abruptly by the screeching sound of her Aunt Petunia's voice, and a sharp rap on the door of her cupboard.

Hera sighed and fell back onto the small cushion she used as a makeshift bed. Her body was much too big for the tiny cupboard under the stairs of Number Four Privet Drive. In order to keep her feet from pressing into the walls she needed to curl up into a fetal position. However, no matter how cramped and uncomfortable her cupboard was, she greatly preferred her time spent there in solitude rather than out and about the house where she had to face the Durselys.

"Up!" Aunt Petunia's voice pierced through her eardrums once more.

Hera groaned.

"Coming!" Hera yelled back, feeling along the floor for the rounded glasses that the Dursely's had bought her after much insistence from her schoolteachers.

The prettier girls teased her senselessly at school for both her hair and the glasses. Still, she was glad to actually be able to see what the teacher was writing on the board.

She pushed her glasses onto her face and rolled into the hallway, where she was met by a swift kick to the stomach by Dudley. Hera grunted and clutched her gut, unable to breathe as he had knocked the wind from her.

She was silently grateful for the fact that Uncle Vernon had forbidden Dudley from hitting or kicking her in the face anymore. About a year ago a social worker called by the school had come by, concerned over the ever present bruising on her face. A carefully coached Hera and a charmingly doting Aunt Petunia met the social worker with baked goods and fresh tea. The woman left believing completely that the bruises were a result of harmless childish skirmishes, but that the Dursleys would be careful to keep a closer eye on Hera from that point on.

Now Dudley understood that if he wished to bully and abuse his cousin he needed to avoid her face. Every inch of her body covered by clothes was of course fair game. And thanks to owning no other clothes other than Dudley's huge hand me downs, most of her body was pretty well covered. A sleeve that fell at Dudley's elbow went nearly to her wrist. The baggy clothes she wore made her appear even smaller than she already was, and she was already tiny. Hera was already naturally slim, but the Dursley's rules about eating contributed to making her look so skinny that a strong gust of wind could blow her away. The Dursley's were opposed to sharing a dinner table with the "uncivilized," so Hera would have to wait till the family had eaten their food before she could try to gather whatever scraps they had left on their plates and make something of a meal for herself.

When she regained the sensation of air in her lungs Hera said "Shove off, Dudley." trying to sound strong, but feeling weak and helpless as usual.

She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could and sprinted away down the hallway, narrowly missing another kick from her brutish cousin. While Hera didn't look it, she was actually extremely fast.

"Girl!" Uncle Vernon called from behind his newspaper as Hera ran into the kitchen.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" Hera answered through gritted teeth. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of a stack of hotcakes in the middle of their rounded kitchen table.

"Get the mail, then get me another coffee." Uncle Vernon grunted without bothering to look up at her.

Hera sulked down the hallway, feeling thoroughly depressed. Summer break was always the worst time of year for her. At least during the school year she had some time away from the Dursleys.

When she picked up the stack of mail her heart stopped. The letter on top was addressed to her! Hand written in a loopy and elegant hand in emerald green ink:

 _Ms H Potter_

 _The Cupboard under the Stairs_

 _4 Privet Drive_

 _Little Whinging_

 _Surrey._

Hera blinked. Was she dreaming? Who would be writing to her? And how would anyone know about her Cupboard. She was fairly certain that the Dursleys did not go around advertising that they kept their niece shoved in a small cupboard meant for storing brooms.

"Girl!" Uncle Vernon called from the kitchen, likely impatient over his coffee.

" **Hide it."** The harsh voice of the crazy man who lived in her head hissed through her mind.

Usually she didn't take his advice, as it seemed that most of the time he only came out to tell her to murder people, which wasn't something she was particularly keen on no matter how much she hated the Dursleys. However, as she could hear Dudley's loud footfalls moving closer to her she decided it was sound advice and shoved it down the front of her pants.

She slipped past Dudley in the hallway before he could grab hold of her and set the letters down on the table. Completely forgetting Uncle Vernon's coffee, she muttered something about needing to go to the bathroom and immediately shut herself into the nearest one.

Hera could feel her heart racing with excitement as she tenderly opened the envelope, not wanting to damage the evidence that there was someone in this world who wished to talk to her, which was not something she could have said before today. She fingered the curious seal as she pulled a thick packet of parchment paper from the envelope.

As her eyes sped across the words on the page she felt her heart sink down to her stomach. It was an advertisement for some stupid magician school, or one of those collection scams Uncle Vernon liked to complain about.

" **Stupid girl."** The cruel voice whispered in her ear. **"You know magic is real. You can feel the power of it buzzing under the surface of your skin begging for release. You know that you are better than the muggles. You can learn how to punish them for everything they have done to you."**

The voice often referred to the Dursleys as "the muggles," Hera did not quite know what the word meant but she knew by the venom in his voice that it was not a good thing to be a muggle.

Hera jumped when the bathroom door flew wide open and Uncle Vernon came blundering in. She hastily threw the papers into the bathroom trash before he could see what she had been looking at.

He was red faced with anger, and she could tell by the way he walked that he had already started his brandy for the day. She suspected that he slipped some into his coffee.

"Come here girl." Uncle Vernon growled, his beady eyes raking up and down her body hungrily. "I want to show you want happens to little girls who don't listen."

Hera glanced around herself nervously, with her uncle blocking the doorway of the small bathroom her only possible escape was out the bathroom window, but she wasn't sure she could make it up before Uncle Vernon grabbed her. She decided to go for it and almost hoisted herself up far enough to scramble out the window before she felt Uncle Vernon's strong grip around her ankle.

"Come here." He looped his arm around her middle and easily pulled her down. "You were asking for it, girl."

Hera tried to pull herself away from him desperately, the spankings she received from him were always much worse while he was intoxicated, and when he used his belt he often drew blood.

"Oh no, you won't get away from me this time." Uncle Vernon carried Hera to his bedroom and dropped her down to the floor and closed the door.

She could hear him unbuckling his belt and went limp, preparing herself for the punishment.

Hera screamed in shock and sudden pain as he grabbed her by a handful of her curly hair and lifted her onto the bed. She stiffened as she felt his sausage-like fingers on her bare skin as he easily pulled down her baggy sweat pants to reveal her bare buttocks.

"Hmm." Uncle Vernon sighed as he examined her.

Anxiety fluttered throughout Hera's body as she struggled to control her breathing, and she reminded herself that if she didn't cry out as he spanked her he would soon get bored and leave her be.

"I think you have outgrown spankings, girl. They don't seem to be helping much. We should get more creative with your punishments." Uncle Vernon spoke slowly, his voice strangely thick.

Hera had no idea what her uncle meant but she dread flooded through her body as she sensed his presence directly behind her.

" **You need to kill him right now. If you don't, what he does to you now will be much worse than death."**

Hera squeezed her eyes shut and ignored the voice; she couldn't imagine anything her uncle could do to her that would be worse than death. Until of course, she felt the strange hardness of her Uncle's erection pressing against her skin and as his beefy hands gripped her hips and pulled her off the bed slightly. Her eyes flew open in sudden understanding and she tried to roll off the bed and away from him. Hera kicked violently and started to scream until a large hand slapped over her mouth and another pressed firmly into her back, rooting her to the bed.

" **Kill him!"** The voice hissed impatiently.

" _I don't know how!"_ Hera pleaded with the voice silently.

" **You need to use your magic. Kill the muggle or let yourself be destroyed by him. Your choice."**

Hera could feel a powerful force surging through her body; she could feel the heat of her fear and panic build up on the surface of her skin. It was something that she always purposefully held back, scared of what might happen if she let it go.

She could feel Uncle Vernon positioning himself behind her, and could hear his quickened heavy breathing.

"Girl, don't act like you haven't asked for this." Her uncle sounded pleased with himself.

" _No!"_ Hera screamed mentally as his hand slipped between her legs.

Her stomach curled up in disgust and she felt nauseous. Hera looked down at her small hands, her fists were clenched onto the fabric of the sheets and her knuckles were white. This couldn't possibly be happening.

" _I will kill you, I will kill you, I will kill you."_ Hera repeated over and again in her head.

Her eyes were blurred with tears and her body shaking with sobs when he finally pressed into her. A searing hot pain ran up her body as he tore into her.

" **I'm disappointed in you."**

" _I don't know how."_

"Avada Kedavra!" A strong voice rang through her ears and a blinding green light flashed through the room.

Hera felt her Uncle's heavy body go limp on top of her, his weight crushing the air from her lungs.

Hera struggled desperately to free herself from the mass of his body weight, but she was pinned down effectively, and completely unable to fill her lungs with air.

" **Lucky girl."** The voice sounded distant and weak.

" _I'm not lucky, I am going to die."_

" **Not today."**

Black spots began to take up Hera's vision, and her head swam from lack of oxygen.

She could hear the same man from before swearing somewhere behind her, and then he said something strange again.

"Expecto Patronum!"

* * *

For nearly eleven years Severus had been forced to stay away from the Dursley residence. Dumbledore assured him that they had a contact near the family who would alert them should any issue arise regarding the girl. Severus had wanted Hera to be adopted by a wizarding family, or even a nice muggle family. He truly believed that Petunia Dursley was the most ill fit person to raise a child, especially a magic one. Her jealousy and bitterness toward Lily had become so ingrained into her personality that it was a wonder she had existed at all before Lily's birth.

Severus had insisted on personally delivering Hera Potter's letter. This would be the closest to a glimpse at her that he would be able to get before she arrived at Hogwarts. McGonagall was concerned for the girl at well, so perfectly shielded from the magical world that no one other than Dumbledore seemed to have access to her. Severus thought the Deputy Headmistress' concern was probably the only reason she granted his request – but under the condition that he report everything he observed to her in detail.

After the fall of Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore assumed the position of Minster of Magic. Dumbledore announced Voldemort's death himself, and hinted that while Hera Potter, the girl who lived, had been the one to finally defeat Voldemort, the entire thing had been orchestrated by the Order of the Phoenix and himself. His first movement as minster was to declare the day of Voldemort's downfall "Hera Potter day" officially; however, most people quickly forgot about the girl as they never heard anything else about her, and on her holiday they toasted Albus Dumbledore. The wizarding world accepted Dumbledore as their benevolent dictator with open arms, and the Order became his own secret police.

Severus knew the entire thing was bullshit. Dumbledore had been vying for the position as minister for years, and while he could have taken it at any time due to his undisputed status as the most powerful light wizard in the world, and the only one Voldemort ever feared, he wanted to wait for the most opportune moment.

Dumbledore, being the ultimate control freak that he was, still maintained his position of Headmaster at Hogwarts, but gave over most of his duties to McGonagall while he was away. And when Dumbledore did come to Hogwarts it was usually just to make some annoying speech about perseverance that no one fully understood, and to talk to his little club of budding Order members who pretentiously named themselves "Dumbledore's Army," notably mainly comprised of Gryffindor students.

When Severus dropped Hera's acceptance letter into the mail slot he cast a disillusionment charm on himself and sat patiently on the wall just outside of the house where he could clearly hear everything going on with his vampire ears.

He didn't expect much, some shrill screaming from Petunia maybe when she saw the letter and realized the meaning behind it. Severus hoped though, that since she had years to prepare for this moment and to grow fond of her adopted child that she would have accepted it by now.

When Severus heard the fat muggle yell for Hera to retrieve the mail his gut clenched and his heart rate accelerated in anticipation, his hand unconsciously curled around his wand in his robes.

Severus closed his eyes to concentrate on Hera. He could hear her sharp intake of breath in shock (he assumed at the letter). He heard the rushed rustling as she hid the letter to hide it from her family. When she ran to the bathroom Severus relaxed slightly. She obviously didn't trust her family, and while they seemed overly harsh on her especially in comparison to the other one, it could be worse. At least they didn't spoil her into oblivion, in that case she would have likely turned out just as bad as her cousin; or worse, her father.

When Severus heard the door crash open he stood up suddenly. Something was very wrong. He was under strict orders not to attempt entry into the house or to interfere in any way, but the girl's uncle was obviously intoxicated and Hera's current situation brought vivid flashbacks to his childhood and his abusive piece of shit muggle father.

Severus unlocked the front door with a wave of his wand, but when he tried to cross the threshold he was thrown back onto the pavement with a forceful magical shove.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, as he rushed back to the door, hurling powerful disenchantment charms towards the house frantically. He could hear the situation escalating in the house. Severus knew that if he didn't get in the poor girl would likely be raped.

He argued with Dumbledore's stubborn wards mentally. While most wards certainly weren't sentient, Dumbledore had a unique habit of creating ones that particularly enjoyed discussing issues with witches and wizards that tried to pass them. They also tended to rant like nonsensical madmen much like Dumbledore himself.

" _Your job is to protect the girl! I want to save the girl! You are doing the opposite of your job by refusing me entry."_ Severus insisted.

" **Oh, wow that is a great argument. Very well crafted don't you think, Reginald? Logical, I think. But isn't it our job to protect** _ **all**_ **inhabitants of the house. Yes, I think it is."**

Whoever Reginald was decided to stay silent for the moment.

" _My intention is to not harm anyone in this house."_

" **Hmm. I suppose I can see that. Well, all right. But if you break your promise expect a particularly nasty curse!"** The ward laughed gleefully as it lowered its defenses for Severus to pass through.

Severus nonverbally casted a freezing charm on Petunia and her child before they had time to react to his sudden entry. He swept through the house, barely registering any of it. His only thought was to get to the girl.

When he opened the door to the bedroom she was in he was prepared to restrain the uncle, and had a binding spell ready on his lips. But when he saw the man pushing the young girl into the bed, the killing curse left his wand almost unconsciously. His anger and desire to kill was almost instinctual when he saw the pathetically fat man with his pants round his ankles, the folds of his fat shuddering as he moved. The man had perspiration falling down his red face and into the creases of his nearly nonexistent neck.

And the girl… the poor young thing… her wild curly hair covered her face completely. He could hear her silent screams muffled by the muggle's hand. Severus could smell the tang of blood indicating her ultimate loss of innocence and something snapped inside him.

Severus blinked in shock when the flash of green light shot from the tip of his ebony wand and the muggle man went suddenly limp as the life promptly left his body.

A searing pain shot through Severus' body so incapacitating that he couldn't even find the energy to remove the muggle from the girl who must have been suffocating from the weight.

"Fuck your wards, Dumbledore. Fuck you." Severus groaned as he sunk to his knees. He closed his eyes and summoned his last sliver of strength.

"Expecto Patronum!" He called out as loudly as he could and prayed dearly it was corporal enough to get to Dumbledore and that he would be immediate in his response else he and the girl were both likely dead.

Severus curled into a ball on the floor as his body was wracked with excruciating spasms, which eventually rendered him unconscious.


	3. Black Heart Inertia

_Hello! Thank you if you haven't given up on me._

 _I wish I was J.K. Rowling, but I am not._

 _I don't own the chapter title._

* * *

Severus woke up in his own expansive bed in his Hogwarts chambers wrapped in soft grey sheets. The mattress caressed his spine and enveloped him in a way that made him never want to open his eyes. He could feel someone's slight figure curled up against him. Her soft breathing and sleeping noises were oddly melodic.

"Wait. What the fuck?" Severus' eyes snapped open and he shot up out of the bed as if the sleeping girl had physically burnt him.

Severus' eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed the temples of his forehead with his long pale fingers. The sleeping girl was none other than Hera Potter.

" _Why the fuck was I cuddled up in bed with an eleven year old?"_ He thought, feeling slightly frantic. Severus remembered rescuing the girl from the rapist muggle pig, and then nearly killing her with his own stupidity and rash behavior. However, he could not recall any events following that. He looked down at himself and was horrified to see that he was wearing nothing but a pair of white underpants.

Severus dressed himself swiftly, his teeth pressed together hard, and his angry heartbeat pounding in his ears.

This had Dumbledore written all over it. Severus wrinkled his nose in disgust. He wondered if the old man realized what was wrong with putting a young child in bed with an adult stranger, or if he simply didn't care and was trying some new type of manipulation tactic.

Severus tentatively approached the sleeping child from one side of the bed. She was wearing a large black T-shirt that he suspected had been lifted from one of his drawers. Her curly black hair was nearly waist length, and it would have been quite beautiful if it weren't frizzy and unkempt. He could see that it was parted to the side, probably so that the lot of it could fall over half of her face, obscuring the lightening bolt scar that he knew to decorate her pale forehead. Her bare legs were so unhealthily skinny it was a wonder that she could support herself on them at all. Hera's legs were also covered in purple and yellow bruises. Severus suspected that when he had Madam Pomfrey do a thorough examination of the girl she would discover bruises on the rest of her body, and likely other signs of past abuse.

Severus' fists clenched as he turned from Hera. The muggles had been starving her, beating her, sexually assaulting her, and emotionally abusing her by forcing her to go her entire childhood feeling completely unloved. He was sure that Albus fucking Dumbledore knew about this.

Severus nearly flew through the hallways, his black robes sweeping behind him. He wanted to rip Dumbledore's fucking throat out. He swung open the door to Dumbledore's office magically with such force that it flew off it's hinges and smashed into one of the many shelves smashing several artifacts.

Severus was met with McGonagall's startled wide-eyed stare, which quickly turned into a stern glare. She was standing before the Headmaster's desk, and Dumbledore sat before her seemingly unconcerned by Severus' dramatic entrance.

"Severus, what is the meaning of this?" McGonagall cried in the same tone she would normally use with a particularly troublesome student.

Severus ignored her completely; he doubted she understood the full extent of Dumbledore's manipulations of the world. While she was an exceptionally bright witch and shrewd woman, her nearly hero-worship of Dumbledore clouded her judgment.

"So, Dumbledore, if you don't mind my asking, what purpose did you have placing Hera Potter, your supposed _chosen one_ into an obviously abusive environment?" Severus sneered. "And don't you dare feign ignorance. Was it your intention to damage her psychologically so that she would be an easier pawn for you to move? Or was this how you would secure her onto your side? Would you leverage her trauma by making it out to all be the Dark Lord's fault? When _you_ are the true puppet master all along?" Severus spat the words out as if they were poison.

Dumbledore intertwined his hands and rested his elbows on his desk, allowing Severus to finish his rant.

"Severus, my boy" Dumbledore began, his tone calm and light "I believe you think much too highly of my capabilities. I had no more ability to see the goings on in that house than anyone else. I would never intentionally put Hera in harms way, of course. In fact, Minerva and I were just discussing adoption options for the child. I have opened up communications with Molly Weasley, and she is perfectly willing to assume guardianship of her."

"I wonder, if you lie to everyone around you so often that you have actually grown to believe it yourself." Severus snarled, he could feel the glamour spells he kept up to make it appear as if he were aging naturally and to conceal his blood red eyes and fangs flicker briefly from anger.

"Severus Snape you will show some respect." McGonagall scolded.

"And why would I do that _Minerva_? Unlike you I am not a quivering idiot wet in my panties at the sight of the great Albus Dumbledore." Severus whirled to face her, ready for blood.

McGonagall blinked at him. "Severus, I will forgive that just this once because I know your concern for the child is the root of your distasteful behavior. If you presume to insult me in such a way again I swear I will not be quite so understanding."

Severus shot her a nasty look before storming out the room. He would never get anywhere with those idiots.

When he arrived back to the entrance of his chambers he froze. He wondered when the girl would awake, or if she was already conscious. A flutter of anxiety danced through his abdominal cavity. Guilt, like a stone dropped into his stomach. Severus felt that somehow he would look this girl in the eyes and she would know. She would look at him and scream her head off while scrambling away from him. He felt that she would surely see right through him and know that no matter how much he attempted to redirect the blame, Severus himself was the source of all her woes. Hera's father had fallen at his own hand, and her mother, the very woman he had loved throughout his entire childhood was killed as a result of his actions.

He took a deep breath to quell his irrational thoughts, and opened his door gently. Severus crossed his sitting room and peered into the bedroom to see the girl still sleeping quite peacefully. As Severus began to close the door leading to his bedroom, he heard the girl stir slightly. He pushed the door open once more to find the girl sitting up straight, rubbing her eyes, her black hair a halo around her head.

Severus cleared his throat loudly.

Hera's brilliantly bright green eyes snapped to meet his.

To his surprise Hera did not panic when she realized that she had no idea where she was. Instead, she cocked her head to the side and smiled faintly.

"I had a dream about you." Hera said, as she raised one eyebrow at him.

Taken aback, Severus entered the room and conjured a chair next to the bed and sat down next to her.

"Oh?" He questioned, raising one eyebrow back at Hera.

She nodded, unperturbed by his blatant display of magic in front of her.

"You were holding me while you talked to someone. I couldn't understand you at all, but I knew I felt very safe." Her green eyes, Lily's eyes, were wide with excitement.

Other than Hera's eyes, the coloring and general wildness of her hair, she looked astonishingly unlike either of her parents.

"Hmm." Severus replied plainly. He knew that her dream was really the memory of Severus holding her as an infant in his arms while arguing with Dumbledore about her future. He wasn't sure he was ready to open up that story to her, because it would only lead to more questions.

Hera's eyebrows furrowed. "Well, who are you, then?"

"I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school you will attend in a month's time." Severus replied, frowning at her skinny frame. He summoned a large tray containing a mini feast.

Hera's eyes widened at the sight of the hot porridge, buttered toast, piles of eggs, bacon, pumpkin juice, and a raspberry tart. She looked from the tray to him, licking her lips.

Severus nodded towards the food, which he placed on the bedside table.

"Eat. I'll answer any questions you have after I am satisfied you have eaten enough." He informed her sternly.

Hera rolled her eyes at him but immediately went for the bacon, caring nothing for manners as she began wolfing it down.

"What's your name?" Hera's cheeks were full of food and flecks of toast flew out of her mouth as she spoke and landed on his robes.

Severus' nose wrinkled as he wiped the crumbs off his front.

"Please, Ms. Potter, in the future refrain from spitting half your breakfast onto my robes. My name is Severus Snape, you will call me Professor Snape or Sir only." He didn't particularly enjoy being stern towards her, he truly wished to ask her how she was feeling, what she remembered, and what she needed to recover. However, he simply couldn't have a student being overly friendly towards him. Especially the one who brought down the Dark Lord, his Slytherin students would likely be put off they noticed her showing a liking to him. Which is why he didn't understand why Dumbledore had placed her in his rooms.

Hera, however, didn't seem to notice or care about his cold demeanor.

"So, it's true that I'm a witch then? I always knew there was something weird about me." Hera spoke in between bites, completely disregarding his warning.

"Yes, I am sure you have experienced magical outbursts when your emotions were running high, especially in your situation." Severus gently probed, hoping she might display some indication of what she remembered about the previous day.

"Yeah, I've made some pretty crazy things happen. I was wondering though, is it normal for witches and wizards to have a voice in their head? He's telling me not to tell you about him right now, actually. I'm not sure if I'm like, raving mad, or if it's a magic thing." She looked up at him, her wide eyes indicating that she trusted him with a sort of naivety only a child could possess.

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" He hissed.

Hera scratched the back of her head, looking ashamed.

"Yeah, he's always telling me to kill people." She slumped down visibly.

"Ms. Potter, that is most definitely not normal. With your permission I am going to look into your mind to see if I can get an idea of what's going on."

"You can do that?" Hera perked up slightly.

"Yes. Do I have your permission, young one?" Severus could feel the corners of his lips tugging upwards ever so slightly. This girl was so much unlike what he had expected.

"Do it." Hera closed her eyes.

Severus entered her mind silently. The edges of her consciousness appeared completely normal, he was careful to avoid peering needlessly into any of her thoughts and memoires. There was one memory he sought out in addition to the voice, though, and that was her rape at the hands of her uncle. Severus found it buried in her subconscious, surrounded by tall black walls. She was repressing it. He knew from experience that would work temporarily, but she would eventually have to address it.

He moved deeper into the webs of her mind, weaving his way through a maze of dark memories and sadness. All of the images that jumped out to him as he passed were painful, he was sure that he would likely be unable to find a single happy memory in this girls mind if he tried. Over and over again he saw the image of her muggle relatives sneering at her, calling her names, hitting her. Severus tried to ignore them, as he followed a strange path of inky black shadow. There was certainly something strange about her mind, and whatever was lurking there seemed determined to not reveal itself to him.

He muttered an apology to her before he began to tear through her mind violently, something he knew to be painful but necessary if he wished to find the culprit of the murderous voice in her head.

After what felt like minutes but could have very well been hours he had cornered a hooded figure. He had never encountered anything like this before in all his years as a legilimens. Severus had no idea what to make of this separate entity existing in the young girl's mind.

" _Who are you?"_ Severus asked it as he moved closer.

" **That's none of your business, Severus Snape."** A clear and familiar voice rang through Hera's mind and into Severus' own ears.

Severus' screamed in sudden pain as every single one of his nerves set on fire, and he was forced from Hera's mind.

Severus' head pounded as he tried to pull himself up. The force of being pushed from the girl's mind had physically launched him against the stone wall of his bedroom.

"Severus!" Hera exclaimed, jumping up and running towards him. "Are you alright?"

Severus rubbed his head thickly, thoroughly shocked.

"Professor Snape." He corrected. His head feeling as if it was being split apart, a combination of the impact with the wall and the mental exertion of preforming such intense legillemency.

"What was it?" Hera sat beside him and put a cool hand on his forehead.

Severus flinched away from her. Shocked at the familiarity with which she touched him.

Her round eyes widened, appearing hurt by his reaction.

Severus reminded himself that this was a girl with no true family. She would likely cling to anyone who showed her even a glimpse of kindness. He knew he wanted to be there for her, he wanted to protect her. Severus wasn't sure if she could understand why he couldn't be openly kind to her in front of others, though. It would be much easier if he distanced himself from her. She would grow to hate him like the rest of the student body in time. If what Dumbledore was blabbering about could be trusted, she would soon have a whole family of redheads dumping more love and food onto her than she could handle. Hera wouldn't need him.

Still, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Hera, I need you to understand that I will be your professor. There will be people for you to grow close to, I swear it. I simply cannot be one of them." He told her as softly and kindly as possible, purposefully keeping the usual edge out of his voice.

Before he could stop himself, he extended his hand out and smoothed out the top of her hair.

"I am fine. There is something in your mind that does not belong there." He continued. "I believe it would be best if for now you did not discuss the voice with anyone other than me. I will make time to help you rid yourself of it. Do you feel comfortable with that Ms. Potter?"

"Yes, of course." Hera nodded at him eagerly.

"Okay. Up with you. It's time I take you to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey can have a look at you. There is also someone you will need to talk to about your future living situation." Severus stood up and dusted himself off, trying desperately to ignore his pounding migraine.

Hera scrambled up beside him looking tired, disheveled, far too skinny, dirty, and happier than she likely had ever been in her life.


	4. Your Heart is an Empty Room

_I know it had been a long time in between updates, but I will try to be more regular._

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had spoken to Hera in a gentle and soothing tone, and handled her as if she were made of glass. Hera felt a faint prick of irritation when the old witch had turned to Professor Snape and whispered something indistinguishable after she had thoroughly examined her with diagnostic spells.

" **Demand to know what she said, Hera. They are treating you like a child."** The murderous voice in her head whispered.

" _Shut up."_ Hera's inner voice hissed back. She was not sure how she felt about Madam Pomfrey, but something inside her lead her to trust Snape implicitly; and she knew she hated the voice.

" **You are so wrong to place your trust in him, little girl. Just ask your filthy mother…"** The voice taunted, and her scar prickled faintly.

Hera ignored it. The voice would frequently taunt her with the death of her parents whenever she did not follow its commands. And when she did oblige it, it would get louder, stronger, and make her feel less in control.

"Hera." Sang Madam Pomfrey's kind voice. "There is not much physically wrong with you, but I will preform a healing spell that will take care of any bumps or bruises."

"What happened to me?" The question had been on her lips since she had first woken up in Professor Snape's chambers. The whole thing had felt like a dream at first, yet the reality had started to seep in, and reality demanded answers.

Madam Pomfrey's eyes flitted to Professor Snape briefly, whose face remained impassive. Both remained silent. The witch did a quick wave over Hera's body with her wand while whispering an incantation. Hera's body glowed with golden light for half a moment, and when the light faded Hera felt relief in places she did not even realize she had pain; most disturbingly was the relief of pain in between her legs.

" **I warned you about the muggle. I told you he would destroy you…"** The voice was only a whisper, but this time it's words penetrated her heart.

"What did he do?" Hera demanded. She meant to make her voice hard and strong, but instead it cracked. As if a train had hit her, the memory smashed right through her brain. Hot tears welled up in her eyes. She could still feel her uncle tearing into her, senselessly robbing her of any semblance of a childhood she had left.

" **You should have killed him. You are weak."** The voice rang louder, taking advantage of her vulnerability.

Hera struggled to find enough air to fill her lungs. Her chest rose up and down rapidly, her throat constricted while the rest of her tiny body became wracked with shaking sobs. She felt so helpless, so used, but mostly so angry. Angry that her parents had died and left her with such horrible excuses for relatives, angry that no one had rescued her.

" _Except Professor Snape did rescue you."_ She told herself; while she writhed on the hospital bed, clawing at her chest as if she could force her fingers through and rip her heart out, rip the pain out.

" **He was too late. You are weak, broken, destroyed. Your only hope is to harness your anger, feed from it, grow strong from it."** The voice drowned out all of her other thoughts, and it sounded rather… soothing.

Hera flung herself up from the bed, her dark frizzy hair fell in front of her face, and her eyes held an animal-like hunger as they darted around the room wildly.

"You were too late." She told Professor Snape in a voice that was not hers with an unsettling calmness that deeply contrasted the fit she was having on the bed just a second ago. "I will return through this vessel, because you were too late." A smile broke out across Hera's lips that did not belong to her.

Hera felt like she was observing her own actions from a distance. She was aware of what she was doing, what she was saying, but she had no control. And her devastation only made her want to retreat further within herself, she did not want to feel, she wanted to surrender.

Professor Snape waved his wand at her; he still looked completely devoid of emotion.

She felt her sense of self returning, along with an intense exhaustion. It felt as if her bones themselves were growing heavy. She fell slowly to the ground, a cushion appeared behind her right before she made contact with the stone, most likely Professor Snape's doing.

* * *

Severus and Madam Pomfrey did not exchange any words after he had placed Hera into an enchanted sleep. Her face was white with worry, but she seemed to have viewed Hera's fit as a normal reaction to trauma. Unlike Severus, who could sense the dark magic radiating off the girl when she had spoke to him. The words 'I will return through this vessel.' haunted him. Could the dark lord return through the very person who had destroyed him in the first place? That sort of twist in fate was the very anti-thesis of poetic justice.

Severus was fairly certain that when the girl awoke from her healing sleep that it would be Hera who would open her eyes, and not the dark lord. He guessed that in order for him to possess her she would have to be emotionally compromised. The memory of something as traumatic as rape would fly anyone into a place of extreme emotional vulnerability. He planned to give her a calming draught when she arose, he would force feed it to her if he needed to. Following that… he was unsure. Severus Snape had never been a delicate person, and a situation such as this called for delicacy.

He settled down in the chair beside her bed, resigned to wait. Unless he cast the counter spell the enchanted sleep would break only when it determined she was ready to wake up, and he wanted to let it work its magic, so to speak. Madam Pomfrey nodded at him slightly before scurrying away. Severus had a begrudging respect for the woman. While he did not enjoy her company in the least, (that not really being a mark on her character as Severus did not particularly enjoy any person's company) he did recognize that she was an extremely powerful healer and that she made healing the body look as easy as a simple charm.

Severus summoned a book he had already read from his personal quarters so he could look busy. He opened it to the first page, and turned the pages at regular intervals, but he kept his gaze firmly on Hera Potter.

Half the day had passed before Severus observed any movement from the girl. Finally, her pale hand (nearly the color of her sheets) twitched slightly. This prompted Severus to stand up and move swiftly to her side.

Hera's eyes fluttered open and met his immediately. Hera looked at him with Lily's eyes, but with none of Lily's emotion. Lily had never looked up at him with such naïve trust, with such admiration. This girl would be the death of him, he was sure of it.

"How are you feeling, Ms. Potter?" Severus asked her in the gentlest tone he could muster.

"I… I feel horrible." Hera responded, her eyes filling with tears once more. "I feel anxious. I feel like I need to tear my skin off my bones if I ever want to feel clean again." Her voice was shaking.

"Do you think the voice will be able to overpower you again?" Severus was not sure if he trusted the child to know her own mind enough to have the knowledge he sought, but he felt the need to ask her anyway.

"Not right now. He only really get's stronger when I am angry."

Severus nodded. "I see. I am going to give you a small dose of something called a calming draught. It will not take away your emotional pain, but it will help you process it with a clearer head; it should relieve the anxiety, and keep your anger from escalating too far. I'll give you another to hold onto for emergencies." He handed her two small bottles, both containing a blue liquid.

Hera nodded and drank the potion. "The voice has never been able to take complete control over me like that before. I don't think it'll happen again. The Dursleys have done some pretty messed up things to me just never…" Hera's voice trailed off.

Severus did not know what to say to the poor girl. He wanted to express to her that he felt her rage, that she was not alone, that her uncle had not gone unpunished for his final crime against her, but he was scared. Severus did not think himself capable of having a healthy personal relationship with anyone, even just as a mentor to a student. Not to mention the added complications of himself being a spy. If the dark lord did return he would need to answer the call, and if his fellow death eaters whispered gossip of the Potions Master being particularly chummy with the-girl-who-lived it would put him in a very bad position from the start. Then again, school had not started yet and no one was watching him here.

"I killed your uncle." Severus informed her calmly. He watched her face intently to see how the news would affect her.

Hera frowned slightly. "Will you get in trouble?"

Severus was taken aback. He had half expected her to react as Lily would have. Her mother had been the epicenter of morality, and probably would have immediately chastised him without even considering the situation.

"It is extremely unlikely that I will face legal repercussions." Severus ensured her.

"Because you were protecting me?" Hera looked up at him with such a child-like innocence that it nearly broke his frozen heart.

"Yes, Ms. Potter, as I would any of my students."

Severus was grateful when he heard the hospital wing's doors fly open. Every word he exchanged with the girl painfully reminded him of his own humanity, which he felt he had discarded long ago.

In flew Albus Dumbledore in all his glory. Putrid pink robes and ever-twinkling eyes over his half moon spectacles. Severus took a few steps away from the girl.

"Ahh, Hera Potter, I am very pleased to meet you." Dumbledore was smiling down at Hera warmly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the headmaster of this school, and your gracious host. I trust Professor Snape has been accommodating to your needs?"

"Uhh, yes, he's been nice." Hera looked up at Dumbledore with wide eyes, she had probably never seen so much pink in one outfit before.

"Nice?" Dumbledore chuckled. "I don't believe I have ever heard anyone refer to our Potions Master as 'nice' before. Hera seems very taken to you, Severus. Perhaps it would be best if she were your ward for the summer, you could create an adjoining room for her in your chambers." Dumbledore suggested in a way that felt much more like a command than a suggestion.

"I hardly think that would be appropriate." Severus hissed. He did not know what game Dumbledore was playing, but he was tired of Hera being a pawn. "Were you not looking for a family to adopt her?"


End file.
